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"Code of Honor"
Rating: PG-13 “Code of Honor” starts three months after “Broken Loyalties”. Malcolm and Hoshi are married and Travis is back on Enterprise as helmsman. Oneko the cat has taken up residence on board the ship and has a friendly rivalry with Porthos. As the story starts, Malcolm receives a disturbing transmission... One The buzz was bloody annoying. Malcolm Reed reached over and smacked the clock on the bedside table, but the infernal noise refused to stop. He swore under his breath and poked his head out from under the covers. It wasn’t his clock, but the communications link by his computer. He glanced at the digital numbers: 0245. “It’s the middle of the night,” he muttered and pushed himself up to a sitting position. “This better be an emergency...” Malcolm got out bed and made his way to the com. “Reed here.” The dry tone answered, “Your reflexes are just as good as they were ten years ago, Commander. I’m glad to see you’ve fully recovered from your injuries.” Malcolm felt his face harden as he recognized the unseen voice, but his voice was calm. “No thanks to you and your operatives.” “Now, now, that wasn’t exactly my fault, Malcolm. You can ask your father about that. He and I were in agreement that even Section 31 could take things a bit too far without proper guidance.” Malcolm’s computer screen lit up with the image of Harris, the head of Section 31. His mouth turned up in a sarcastic smirk. “Are you implying that your control over Section 31 isn’t as ironclad as it was in the past?” “I’m implying that ‘creative interpretation’ of my orders will be swiftly dealt with,” Harris’s voice was quiet but deadly. “And they have. You’re still alive, aren’t you?” “What the hell do you want? I thought I told you I was through playing your games.” Unconsciously, he flexed his right hand into a fist. A month ago, he’d been in Sickbay, facing the possibility of losing that hand after an assassination attempt by an S31 agent. He’d been lucky. “My, my, you’re in a foul mood, Malcolm. Trouble in Paradise already? I see that your wife isn’t with you and it must be early in the morning. Did I interrupt anything?” He clamped down his irritation; Harris was trying to aggravate him and he reminded himself not to give Harris that satisfaction. “My wife is currently on duty on the Bridge and since I haven’t heard from her, I assume you’ve managed to bypass her communications protocols. She will be quite upset.” Harris sighed. “She’s good at what she does, Malcolm, and perhaps if we’d approached her sooner...well, that’s water under the bridge now.” His expression became unwontedly serious. “Have you heard anything from Philippe Trieste lately?” “No. Then again, Travis Mayweather’s kept close touch with him since we left Alpha Centauri.” Philippe Trieste had been a crewman on Enterprise, but had returned home to Alpha Centauri to take over his parents’ trading consortium, Estelle de Montclaire Limited. Malcolm and Travis had helped him through the backstabbing politics surrounding his installation as head of EdML. Harris’s expression became even grimmer. “Then you haven’t received his message, then.” “What message?” “This message.” Harris touched a control on his desk, and the screen split into two, with Harris’s image on the left and characters on the right. Malcolm read the brief message once, then twice, and his eyes widened. It was in French, which he read as easily as Hoshi did, and he automatically translated it into English in his mind: Circumstances have forced me to withdraw to Matre de Soleil under protection of Cmt. De Jeunier. It is my hope that this message reaches my Stewards; if not, then misfortune has befallen me. I beg of you, if this does not reach Msr. Mayweather or Msr. Reed or Mme. Sato-Reed, destroy it before it falls into enemy hands. Grace to you all, Philippe Trieste. “Matre de Soleil. That’s a retreat in the southern hemisphere of Alpha Centauri,” Malcolm murmured. “If I’m not mistaken, that is owned by the Montclaire family.” He lifted his eyes to Harris, hiding a stab of fear for Philippe Trieste’s welfare. “Why didn’t I get this?” “Because it was intercepted.” Harris replied flatly. “This was brought to my attention by Comte de Jeunier, the new head of the Centaurian Security Force. I understand you worked with Emile closely during their reorganization and he would’ve been your deputy had you accepted their offer as commandant.” “Yes, I know Emile.” Malcolm remembered the strict, no-nonsense police officer who’d taken over the CSF. “Emile and an investigator from Starfleet traced the message to its source. Now Philippe, Emile, and the investigator are missing. We think that they might have been taken by one of the other Consortiums, but which one, we aren’t sure.” Harris met Malcolm’s gaze. “Malcolm, their lives are in danger and we need you.” Malcolm took a deep breath and tried to control a rising fear. “Who is the missing Starfleet investigator?” Harris’s eyes softened. “Your father, Admiral Stuart Reed.” Malcolm stepped onto the bridge, one hand still adjusting the pips on his collar. After Harris had broken off communications, he’d received a summons to Captain Archer’s Ready Room. He schooled his face to perfect impassivity, even as his stomach clenched in worry. He and his father had recently mended fences, so to speak, and now... He caught Sub-Commander T’Pol’s expression as he moved quickly to the Ready Room. The Vulcan’s face was calm, but he read sympathy in her eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat and pushed the buzzer. Archer’s voice gave him permission to enter; he squared his shoulders and walked inside. Jonathan Archer stood up as he entered. Lieutenant Travis Mayweather sat in one of the chairs, his usual grin completely absent. The helmsman gazed at Malcolm and only nodded in greeting. Lieutenant Hoshi Sato-Reed reached over and put a comforting hand on her husband’s arm as he sat down next to her. Her dark eyes were shiny with tears, but to her credit, she managed to keep her look of professionalism. There was a tentative meow and Oneko poked her head out from under Archer’s desk. Travis and Hoshi had met her on Vega and now she lived on the ship as the Reeds’ pet. She twitched her whiskers at Malcolm, then jumped onto the desktop. With a deep purr, she began to rub her face on his sleeve. Malcolm reached over and stroked her glossy fur. Not to be undone, Porthos gave him a woof and leaped into Hoshi’s lap. “Man, you’ve gotten those animals wrapped around your fingers,” Travis said with a touch of humor. “Even Porthos.” Captain Archer sighed and shook his head. “Looks like Porthos doesn’t want to feel left out. Don’t worry, boy, I think Hoshi won’t forget you.” The dog woofed and settled into her lap. Oneko meowed something that Porthos pointedly ignored. “Can they understand each other?” Travis wondered aloud. “I guess they can.” “Some things need no translation,” Hoshi quipped. She squeezed Malcolm’s arm and nodded at Captain Archer. The humor dissipated quickly as they focused on the situation at hand. “We’ve gotten a priority message from Alpha Centauri,” Archer said. “There’s been an attempt at a hostile takeover of EdML. It wasn’t successful, but now Philippe Trieste is missing. Travis’s brother managed to sent him a message, but it was interrupted before we could respond. Something bad’s happened over there, and Admiral Forrest wants us to find out what.” Travis nodded again and pulled out a PADD. “Paul sent us some shipping manifests, some dating back to before he became Philippe’s representative to the Boomers. I don’t know why he did; I can’t make heads or tails out of it and I don’t understand why it’s relevant to their disappearance.” Malcolm and Hoshi studied them. “It looks like a random list,” she commented. “Different types of ships, different cargo, different registries. That’s rather strange.” Malcolm frowned and asked, “Have you gotten in touch with Captain Sandosh?” The Tellarite captain of the Vhrum was a significant figure in the Boomer community; if anyone knew the ins and outs of Boomer politics, it was Sandosh. “We sent a message, but we haven’t heard back from him yet,” Archer replied. “Their last known location was on the trading route between Draylax and Alpha Centauri. If they’re in the Sharyu Corridor, it’ll be half a day before Sandosh can respond.” “Damn,” Malcolm swore under his breath. He looked at the captain. “Just prior to your summons, I received a transmission from Harris. He bypassed Hoshi’s comm protocols.” His wife made a sound of aggravation, but he stopped her protest by squeezing her hand. He related his conversation with Harris, and handed Archer his own PADD with his copy of Philippe’s last message. Jon motioned for Travis to read it as well. “Matre de Soleil, huh? I’d think that’d be the first place someone would’ve been looking for him. Something sounds fishy to me, sir,” Travis said with a fierce frown. “Harris also said that Starfleet’s investigator into the incident has also disappeared.” Malcolm forced himself to remain calm. Hoshi’s grip tightened on his arm as his voice grew quieter. “My father.” Captain Archer scowled as Travis’s head snapped towards him. There was sympathy and shock, as well as anger in the younger man’s features. Travis had nearly lost his brother Paul three months ago on Vega; he knew exactly was going through Malcolm’s mind. “That tears it. Malcolm, I’m sending you and Travis back to Alpha Centauri. Find out what happened and get Philippe, Paul and Stuart back. Hoshi, send a Priority One message to Admiral Forrest.” “Yes, sir.” Hoshi took a deep breath. “I want to go—“ Malcolm shook his head. “No, I want you to stay here. Whoever has my father wants to send me a clear message. You’re safer here on Enterprise.” She was about to protest, but Captain Archer’s gaze stopped her. She only nodded, albeit grudgingly. Archer sighed, then gave the order. “Take Shuttlepod Two and make any arrangements you need. Good luck you two.” “Thank you, sir.” Malcolm, Travis and Hoshi got up from their seats and quickly left the Ready Room. Oneko followed and managed to slip into the turbolift before the doors closed. Malcolm glanced at Travis and said, “Shuttlebay Two in an hour, Travis.” “I’ll be there.” Travis smiled at Oneko and asked, “You comin’, or are you gonna stay here and keep Hoshi company?” The lift stopped at Travis’s deck. Oneko meowed and marched after Travis he exited the lift. Travis’s grin widened as he glanced back at Malcolm. “Looks like she’s assigned herself to the party. See ya in an hour.” Then the doors closed. Malcolm turned to his wife. “Hoshi—“ “I understand, Malcolm, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have to like it.” She pressed two fingers to his lips. “We have an hour—“ “Yes,” he murmured as he kissed her fingers. |
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